Chamber unleashes 13 ads to influence congressional elections

Fresh off a big win in North Carolina’s Senate primary, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced a new advertising onslaught to influence midterm elections.

The business group plans to run ads in two Senate contests and 11 House races to help elect “candidates who understand how jobs are created,” chamber spokeswoman Blair Latoff Holmes said in an email announcing the buys.

The chamber’s spending is its latest push to help candidates backed by the Republican Party’s pro-business wing.

The GOP’s establishment forces won big Tuesday night when their favored candidate, Thom Tillis, easily exceeded the 40% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in the state’s Senate primary. The chamber had spent nearly $1 million in North Carolina in recent weeks to help boost Tillis and attack the lawmaker he wants to replace, first-term Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.